The 2018 NFL draft kicked off with the New York Giants selecting Saquon Barkley #2 overall and the team’s general manager Dave Gettleman subsequently mocking the analytics community’s devaluing of the running back position.

The next team to draft a running back was, surprisingly to some, the Seattle Seahawks, who selected Rashaad Penny at No. 27. Unlike the Giants, though, Seattle appears to take a rosier view of analytics. Each of the Seahawks’ three post-draft press conferences were peppered with explicit mentions of analytics, especially from general manager John Schneider, prompting Jared Stanger, the founder of SeattleSeamocks.com, to tweet that the “Seahawks read PFF.”

My favorite definition of analytics is simple: the use of data to improve decision making. Resources like Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus help us to quantify what happens on the football field, allowing for easier comparisons across players and teams. The Seahawks seem to...